Are we really doing that badly?

[Pinkerton Security]

- Did anyone truly think we would beat the Pats? Not many. Yet we could have beaten them, SHOULD have beaten them, just blew it.

- We beat a team we should have beat in the Bucs. They are not good, but we ran wild on them and could have scored more.

- We stayed step-for-step with a team that some are calling the best team in the NFL for 3 quarters, and if Trent hadnt overthrown a couple balls to TO, we may have been in a situation to win. Did we blow that game as well? Yes. Did our offense look bad? Yup. However our defense did look pretty good for more than 3 quarters, then just tired from facing the best offense in the league.


Im not saying we're awesome...Im just saying, if you look at the games we've played compared with the expectations going into those games, we are at least where we expected to be, and may have even exceeded expectations a bit. Lets wait until we are 1-8 before we all go scouring our medicine cabinets for razor blades or step out onto the ledge.

[HHURRICANE]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

I think the issue is that what we expected and what we should be getting are two different things.

The organization said that not making playoffs last year would be unacceptable. We didn't so this year somehow the bar got lowered?

The FO should be shot.

[ddaryl]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

almost is good with horseshoes, hand grenades, and even lawn jarts, but it has gotten real old in the Jauron era. Especially when we clearly beat ourselves over and over again

and it gets even older when you consider the last time we were a real playoff threat

[Pinkerton Security]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

All im saying is that we lost to 2 possible top 5 teams in the NFL. This isnt necessarily a cause to panic...yet.

But yeah our FO and coaching are not making me happy one bit.

[madness]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

With Lynch out, I expected going 1-3 through the first three. I did not expect the NE or NO game to be so close though.

[BillsWin]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

I said this in preseason, that preseason doesnt matter and I will continue to stick by a 10-6 prediction until there are seven losses to our record. I think this Bills team is better than we think. They have made classic mistakes that show we are a young team with no idea how to win yet (ie. coaching)

Maybe Jauron is feeling the heat more than ever and will click, but we have alot of injuries right now that are going to hurt us. Whitner's one really worries me. He has been playing the best I've ever seen him play through three games, and I hope he is back soon. Florence and Corner are capable enough to step in for McKelvin and to be honest, I have been disappointed in McKelvin's play to date. He plays too soft in coverage and allows too much cushion on receivers.

I tell you what though, our coming up schedule is favorable and we should be 3-2 heading into a very important Jets game. (I personally think that if our offense is clicking we can beat the Jets because the Jets offense really is not that good as everyone says it is, and I think we have the receivers to attack their defense. As well as Lynch/Jackson.)

[trapezeus]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

i get the point. its valid. but to me, the team seems to be making the same mistakes from the past 3 years. can't close out games that they are winning and can't make enough changes in the second half to take a close game.

add the injuries and the fact the players quit, this miami game will show us where their heads are at.

[justasportsfan]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

I agree with you pinkdogg32. We're actually doing better than I expected.

Yes, we almost beat the pats and no other team up to this point held the saints O like we did.

THe thing is, when will other teams say the same thing about the bills? When will they start saying," Uh-oH ,we're playing the bills. We can beat them on any other given sunday"?

All we've ever been under Dick is nothing more than spoilers for other teams and I doubt it's ever going to change. We'll NEVER be elite under him and we bills fans have learned to expect it and some have learned to live with it.

[Philagape]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

Yes, the Bills are where I expected them to be. I also expected another 7-9.

Will standards around here ever go up?

We're always comparing the Bills to the truly pathetic teams to make them look good and ourselves feel better.
We're comparing them to unexpected success stories -- which are stories because they're rare -- that have nothing to do with the strengths and weaknesses of this team.
We're comparing them to our own expectations, diluted by a decade of failure.
We settle for status quo instead of actual improvement and (gasp!) contention.

This is the legacy of the Ralph-Russ-Dick unholy trinity. A culture of losing that has infected the fan base into celebrating keeping games close and looking good for parts of games.
On second thought, this team IS truly pathetic and so are we.
A bunch of Charlie Browns ... maybe this time Lucy won't pull the football away!

[mybills]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

Not many "tough teams" left on our schedule. We've already put the best one (Saints) behind us. We don't play Balt, Philly, Giants or Min (teams who are actually putting up some big scores) but we still face Colts, Falcons, Texans & NE again. I suggest we all sit back until the bye..then praise them or scream at them, then.

[The Juice Is Loose]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

man, i just think it's all relative. when teams lose, anybody can go back and say hey this was a mistake, that was a mistake, that's why they lost. you can do that with any team in the NFL.

when the pats lost to the jets, the fans were probably saying "why are we throwing 3 times for every 1 rushing attempt when brady is rusty and rehabbing a knee"?" and they would have been right. but the fact is, every week half the league loses and makes mistakes.

i think for how we've come out of the gate, it will serve us better a lot more in the long run than last year when we went 5-1. obviously, the wins help with achieving playoffs but they hurt as far as teams, especially young ones, thinking they have arrived and are the team to beat.

BillsWin is right, and so am I. I am 100% certain that we'll play the Jets standing 3-2. What if the Saints whip the Jets this week? Then what? Are we going to be viewed as better or worse than right now?

The fact is, lately, the teams that go on to have good playoff runs and super bowl runs have had rougher starts to the season. Every September, October, November...the media and fans crown a champion but how often are they champ in January/February and on? Rarely.

I think this team has talent, with the injury situation if we can be .500 at the halfway point we'll then get Poz and Whitner back and that should help create some momentum.

Its a season. Not week to week. We gotta ride this season out. For all you negative people who want Jauron gone, just enjoy it if he loses because then you'll get your wish.

For those of us who want the team to do well and see a glimmer of hope at the end of this season, and a good chance to make the playoffs, we'd rather have Juaron stay, and win, then scratch everything and start over, again.

Holmgren is eyeing DC. if Jeff Fisher gets fired he'll be in Dallas by the end of the day. You know that Cowher wants Carolina and that Shanahan probably has his sights on a team other than Buffalo. Our only hope would be Jon Gruden or Brian Billick, both of which their teams have sucked over the last 4-5 years and were removed from their previous job. So is that really anything guaranteed? Gruden rode Dungy's defense to a title and Billick, an offensive mastermind, couldn't get Kyle Boller to play, he picked him btw, and he couldn't get the offense to not sputter.

So the fact is, most coaches teams and players are unproven, raw, and its up to the team to develop chemistry and momentum. This team is getting better. I can see that. If Trent can improve as the season goes on and if we make a stronger effort to get the ball in Lee and TO's hands, this team is going to the fucing playoffs!!!!!

[psubills62]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

Not many "tough teams" left on our schedule. We've already put the best one (Saints) behind us. We don't play Balt, Philly, Giants or Min (teams who are actually putting up some big scores) but we still face Colts, Falcons, Texans & NE again. I suggest we all sit back until the bye..then praise them or scream at them, then.

I'll tell you what...I'll be rooting for the Colts through Week 16, and against the Jaguars, Titans, and Texans. My reasoning is that if the Colts do REALLY well (just not 16-0 well) and the other teams in the division aren't as good, then hopefully we'll get to play against Jim Sorgi in that last game instead of Peyton Manning.

Our schedule (like I predicted...yes I'm patting myself on the back) has gotten much easier than it looked before the season. If by some miracle we are still in the playoff race come Week 17...I'd much rather go up against Sorgi than Manning.

[Mahdi]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

- Did anyone truly think we would beat the Pats? Not many. Yet we could have beaten them, SHOULD have beaten them, just blew it.

- We beat a team we should have beat in the Bucs. They are not good, but we ran wild on them and could have scored more.

- We stayed step-for-step with a team that some are calling the best team in the NFL for 3 quarters, and if Trent hadnt overthrown a couple balls to TO, we may have been in a situation to win. Did we blow that game as well? Yes. Did our offense look bad? Yup. However our defense did look pretty good for more than 3 quarters, then just tired from facing the best offense in the league.


Im not saying we're awesome...Im just saying, if you look at the games we've played compared with the expectations going into those games, we are at least where we expected to be, and may have even exceeded expectations a bit. Lets wait until we are 1-8 before we all go scouring our medicine cabinets for razor blades or step out onto the ledge.

It's not that we are doing badly, it's that the same problems from last year currently exist...

Lame QB play

No pass rush when needed

Some will say coaching though I dont agree.

[mybills]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

I'll tell you what...I'll be rooting for the Colts through Week 16, and against the Jaguars, Titans, and Texans. My reasoning is that if the Colts do REALLY well (just not 16-0 well) and the other teams in the division aren't as good, then hopefully we'll get to play against Jim Sorgi in that last game instead of Peyton Manning.

Our schedule (like I predicted...yes I'm patting myself on the back) has gotten much easier than it looked before the season. If by some miracle we are still in the playoff race come Week 17...I'd much rather go up against Sorgi than Manning.

I wouldn't wanna play against either Manning.

[psubills62]

Re: Are we really doing that badly?

It's not that we are doing badly, it's that the same problems from last year currently exist...

Lame QB play

No pass rush when needed

Some will say coaching though I dont agree.

Our pass rush has been a lot better than last year. I seem to remember Schobel getting a big turnover against the Saints, and Kelsay getting a sack on a crucial 3rd and ten. It just seems to go unnoticed when our offense does nothing with that kind of momentum.